First thing this morning the snow was slow on the empty beginners run so it was perfect for working on skating turns and moving the centre of mass. We took that onto the main green descent and Darcy was able to turn much more accurately and even cope with the steeper, narrow bottom section without difficulty. Natalie was reinforcing her confidence – but still suffering from the ski boots – so we changed them. Fortunately the skiman had exactly the same problem with his own ski boots so he understood the issue perfectly and was able to find the right solution rapidly.
Feet
With the boots being changed it was the perfect opportunity to work on the feet/leg/boot connection…
I’m going to be embarrassingly lazy here and copy the next chunk directly from yesterday’s blog as it’s the same lesson …
The Foot (The Intelligence of the Feet)
There are 26 bones in each foot.
Between the heel and the ankle is the subtalar joint which is used to roll the foot onto its edges. Pressure on the heel allows you to feel this properly.
Both feet must be on the inside edges at all times.
Standing on the heel strengthens the ankle (but does not put you on the back of the ski boot) – it just activates the anterior tibialis (shin muscle) making your base of support stronger.
When on the inside edge of the foot you also activate the adductor muscles (inside of the upper leg) so this leads to “pulling in”.
Pulling In (support for the centre of mass)
Subtalar joint – foot on inside edge.
Adductor muscles engaged.
Centre of mass moving inwards.
Everything pulling inwards for the whole turn – right from the beginning.
This is the structure of support for the movement of the centre of mass.
With Zak and Damon we worked on the “pivot” for the first time. Damon actually did really well managing a proper pivot on his own by only the second attempt. Zak was much less comfortable regarding standing on one leg! Please read the “Pivot” section of the blog to find the detailed explanations and demos “Pivot Link”.
We also worked on sideslipping – an essential aide to eliminating the stemming (plough) and developing correct edge control. Skis close together – inside edges of the feet – moving the centre of mass to control the sideslip.
